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Same same? Or different?
A former business associate was lamenting the resignation of his General Manager.
My friend was stressed as his GM had been his right-hand man running his business for the past five years, and he had no one in his team who could assume the role of GM. To him, those “next in line” were either too maverick, too by the book or simply too junior to have the needed connections. Basically, they were not the same as the current GM.
After he had ranted sufficiently, I asked him why he felt he needed to have an identical GM to the current one.
I shared that as organizations moved through the stages of business, or face emerging challenges, different management skillsets were important at the different stages. At the start-up stage, a GM who is entrepreneurial is essential to finding and developing the business’ USP. Then as the business grows, a GM who is focused on structure and organization is needed to set the company up right. Thereafter, when the business enters maturity, a visionary GM who understands the business, and the business environment and where it is heading, is then essential to help the business find its next s-curve.
As his industry was at an inflection point, I shared that he might already have…
